Astronomy sales during the pandemic. Update.

[Danjc]

14 minutes ago, Earl said:

I suspect once prices have gone up and the situation has reached its normal state (whatever that is) the prices will stay up. not due to the retailer but the supply chain.

I reckon you’re spot on there, maybe a slight drop but not back to what it originally was. 

[FLO]

On 13/02/2021 at 04:17, pete_l said:

there must be something else going on than just container costs. Something UK specific?

There are no UK specific causes for the price increases that I am aware of.  Other than perhaps Felixstowe are experiencing logistical problems that has caused some shipping companies to avoid docking there. 

On 13/02/2021 at 13:19, Deadlake said:

Any news on Takahashi, Vixen, Televue and Baader price increases at all? 

None that we have heard. 

12 hours ago, Danjc said:

@FLO Any idea if SharpStar are likely to follow with price increases as I have been seriously considering buying a 76EDPH. 

We haven't heard of any price rises at the factory (we source direct from the factory). 

On 13/02/2021 at 13:42, Starflyer said:

Any news on Baader filter stock, I hear there was a distributor problem?

Baader's UK distributor was DHinds. They closed just before Christmas. Currently we source Baader products direct from Baader in Germany, which is good, but unfortunately they like many other suppliers are unable to provide ETAs for many of their products. 

55 minutes ago, johninderby said:

All this is why I ordered my new Tecnosky scope over the weekend before any price increases. 🙂

We don't stock Tecnosky products. 

17 minutes ago, Earl said:

I suspect once prices have gone up and the situation has reached its normal state (whatever that is) the prices will stay up. not due to the retailer but the supply chain.

Where FLO is responsible for price rises (i.e. we increased our iOptron prices recently due to increased shipping costs) then those prices will be reduced when shipping costs return to normal. 

Regarding Sky-Watcher prices, we hope and expect they will reduce when shipping costs fall but some of the increase is due to increased costs at the factory so we doubt they will ever fully return to pre-Feb prices. 

To be fair, when compared to other EU countries, UK Sky-Watcher prices have been extraordinarily low for a long time. 

On 12/02/2021 at 23:53, Tim said:

Hope all at FLO are safe and sound and enduring these times with a smile and with faces to the wind

We are good. Thank-you 🙂 

We continued to grow through 2020. None of our staff were furloughed. Indeed we increased staff in our warehouse, workshop, admin and heldesk. Clear Outside, Astronomy Tools, IKI observatory, StarGazine and Stargazerslounge are also in good health. 

Thank-you for your continued support. None of this would be possible without you 🤗 

Steve & everyone at FLO. 

[FLO]

We are anticipating William Optics prices will rise later this month. 

[FLO]

1 hour ago, Deadlake said:

@FLO Some cameras are being classified as dual use, how is that effecting orders?

I am not sure I understand your question? 🙂 

Steve 

[Deadlake]

1 minute ago, FLO said:

I am not sure I understand your question? 🙂 

Steve 

Talking to other dealers, some cameras are classified as civilian or military application (dual use) which is complicating the paper work at the border.

[FLO]

4 minutes ago, Deadlake said:

Talking to other dealers, some cameras are classified as civilian or military application (dual use) which is complicating the paper work at the border.

We are aware of the classification but have not experienced or heard of any complications. Probably only marketing. Kinda cool to claim 'military spec' 🙂 

[Danjc]

19 minutes ago, FLO said:

We haven't heard of any price rises at the factory (we source direct from the factory). 

Cheers, let us know if things do plan on changing so I can get the order in 👍🏻

[Deadlake]

1 hour ago, FLO said:

We are aware of the classification but have not experienced or heard of any complications. Probably only marketing. Kinda cool to claim 'military spec' 🙂 

Apart from the obvious products (NV) I don't think anyone thought they would be caught by this. 😃

[FLO]

I don't think anyone has 🙂 

[FLO]

On 13/02/2021 at 13:19, Deadlake said:

Any news on Takahashi, Vixen, Televue and Baader price increases at all? 

We have just received a new Vixen trade price list. We have updated our website 😧 

[Deadlake]

2 minutes ago, FLO said:

We have just received a new Vixen trade price list. We have updated our website 😧 

Shipping  costs...

[FLO]

We don't know yet, will speak with them when we reopen tomorrow. 

[Neil27]

I have coveted an Esprit 120 for a few years now, and now the reducer is available even more so. My pension pot becomes available at the end of March so I will will be paying the increased prices unfortunately. Even with the 10% price increase they still represent (to me anyway) a good deal. I would rather pay the old price but I think those price points are long gone now.

What I do find strange is the requirement to pay for the goods in full with no option to place a deposit for something that is likely not to turn up for many months? After speaking to David at FLO this was confirmed via email. I’ll just have to wait until March when I have the full amount and then wait for 6 months for the scope to arrive 🤔

[scotty38]

23 hours ago, Neil27 said:

I have coveted an Esprit 120 for a few years now, and now the reducer is available even more so. My pension pot becomes available at the end of March so I will will be paying the increased prices unfortunately. Even with the 10% price increase they still represent (to me anyway) a good deal. I would rather pay the old price but I think those price points are long gone now.

What I do find strange is the requirement to pay for the goods in full with no option to place a deposit for something that is likely not to turn up for many months? After speaking to David at FLO this was confirmed via email. I’ll just have to wait until March when I have the full amount and then wait for 6 months for the scope to arrive 🤔

Agreed, I would have probably committed to an Esprit120 if I could have done this but couldn't splash it all out and then wait months with nothing so had to divert funds to stuff I could get now....

Obviously if every order is turning into a factory specific order then I get the money up front, that would make sense.

[Swoop1]

Are there any plans to part ship orders? I ask as I have an outstanding order from early January where one part was in stock, one was expected in 10-15 days and the last awaiting shipping in 30 to 40 days. 

The short wait part is now in stock but the 30-40 wait part (Astrozap flexi heat dew shield for Celestron 6" SCT notched) is still showing a wait time of 30-40 days.

[BaldyMan]

On 15/02/2021 at 12:28, Danjc said:

I reckon you’re spot on there, maybe a slight drop but not back to what it originally was. 

Happened with graphics cards during the crypto boom. You couldn't get hold of a card for love nor money and prices sky rocketed. What happened is that consumers just got accustomed to the new prices and that was that. The performance increase that you expected for say £250 was now costing close to £400 and prices have stayed there since.

Look at smart phones too. A "flagship" iPhone or Samsung used to cost in the region of £600-700 for the latest model, now customers are expecting to pay over £1,000 for the latest handset (obviously rolled up into contract payments)

Once consumers accept a new price point then that price tends not shift.

[gilesco]

1 hour ago, Swoop1 said:

Are there any plans to part ship orders?

Yes, call or email them.

[FLO]

16 hours ago, Swoop1 said:

Are there any plans to part ship orders? I ask as I have an outstanding order from early January where one part was in stock, one was expected in 10-15 days and the last awaiting shipping in 30 to 40 days. 

To keep shipping costs low we dispatch orders when complete but if you need in stock items dispatched sooner please email us. Depending on circumstances we might charge an additional fee to cover the additional postage cost. 

HTH, 

Steve 

[Zermelo]

2 hours ago, FLO said:

To keep shipping costs low we dispatch orders when complete but if you need in stock items dispatched sooner please email us. Depending on circumstances we might charge an additional fee to cover the additional postage cost. 

HTH, 

Steve 

Steve,

do you have a general procedure for allocation of in-stock items within a larger order that's waiting on a delivery?

For example, say I've ordered a couple of items that don't look likely to appear before Hell freezes over, along with another item that's in stock.
You don't dispatch the in-stock item early to avoid extra postage (fair enough) but does the in-stock item get put aside for my order, or could all the stock be allocated to satisfy subsequent orders that aren't waiting on anything else? (and therefore, when my difficult items finally arrive, the order might still be waiting for deliveries of the item that was previously in stock). I'm not sure there's an answer here that would keep everyone happy.

[FLO]

1 hour ago, Zermelo said:

For example, say I've ordered a couple of items that don't look likely to appear before Hell freezes over, along with another item that's in stock.
You don't dispatch the in-stock item early to avoid extra postage (fair enough) but does the in-stock item get put aside for my order, or could all the stock be allocated to satisfy subsequent orders that aren't waiting on anything else? (and therefore, when my difficult items finally arrive, the order might still be waiting for deliveries of the item that was previously in stock). I'm not sure there's an answer here that would keep everyone happy.

Our inventory system allocates stock to customers when available, in date order.

So if someone purchases, say, a HEQ5 Pro mount and StellaLyra 6" RC telescope and only the telescope is in stock then the telescope is automatically allocated and reserved for that customer (our website availability indicators don't include stock already purchased/reserved). For the out of stock mount our inventory system keeps track of order requirements and dates (essentially it continuously monitors the customers position in the queue). When more mounts arrive they are automatically assigned, in date order. When complete the order is released for dispatch.  

Our inventory system handles all this automatically (thank-you Grant). 

I can think of only two situations where we might manually override this - someone requires a warranty replacement or we 'know' more telescopes (using the above example) will arrive before the mounts. 

Hope that answers your question 🙂 

Steve 

[Zermelo]

45 minutes ago, FLO said:

Hope that answers your question

Yes, Steve - thanks.

[Swoop1]

On 19/02/2021 at 12:36, FLO said:

To keep shipping costs low we dispatch orders when complete but if you need in stock items dispatched sooner please email us. Depending on circumstances we might charge an additional fee to cover the additional postage cost. 

HTH, 

Steve 

OK. Thanks Steve.

[iapa]

On 13/02/2021 at 15:32, The Lazy Astronomer said:

This is obviously because backordered items still count towards % cloud cover 🙃

The only solution I see, which is detrimental to our preferred suppliers, is to stop making future purchases until the skies clear, then wait at least a year to make sure the skies are clear.

 

OR, the Zarkov cloud zapper as sold by FLO

[wesdon1]

May i ask, very respectfully, why a Skywatcher 200p Dob that was retailing for around £290-£300 last year is now retailing for £399 ? That's a huge increase, and one would have assumed that selling many of them would make the prices come down, not go up ? Normally when something sells well, the seller can reduce prices to reflect higher income through increased sales volume, thus maintaining his/her profit margins ? I understand demand makes prices go up, but conversely increased sales volumes make prices go down, i always assumed my friend ? Thank You for in advance for any help regarding this issue. 

Sincerely, Wes.

[Mr Spock]

That's the opposite view of economic reality. If demand is low, then prices are low to attract more buyers. If demand is high, then prices are high to make more profit.